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July 22, 2009

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Amid the growing heat over the place of abortion in the health care system, it's very difficult to pin down a fairly basic fact: The share of American women whose health care currently covers abortion.

That's deeply relevant to the current attempts to find a compromise in health care reform that leaves the status quo in place, as the way in which federal money and federal rules handle abortion depends on what that status quo actually is.

The Guttmacher Institute argues, in a memo linking a larger study on the matter, that its own survey found that 87% of plans , while another study, based on a questionnaire of human resources executives found 46% of plans cover the procedure. The institute concludes that "the answer is probably somewhere in between," and that most American women have the procedure covered.

But that conclusion is under furious assault from the anti-abortion side, and doesn't seem to be accepted by all abortion rights voices either. The Weekly Standard's John McCormack notes that Kathleen Sebelius recently said "Most private plans do not cover abortion services except in limited instances," and that a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the insurance industry’s trade association, said that "Most insurers offer plans that include this coverage, but most employers choose not to offer it as part of their benefits package."

Asked for back-up for Sebelius's claim, an HHS official, on background, wrote, that "there are varying
estimates on this matter" and stressed that legislation would be "unlikely to determine specific benefit items" like abortion, instead leaving those to some expert body.

(A spokesman for AHIP didn't respond to requests this morning for back-up.)

The National Right to Life Committee's Douglas Johnson also suggests the Guttmacher Institute isn't an honest broker, and that it juiced its numbers "by counting any respondent in its sample that covered abortion even to save the life of the mother."

A senior public policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, Adam Sonfield, rejected the criticism, and said that of "hundreds" of respondents to the group's surey, "fewer than 10" responded that they offered abortion coverage only in limited circumstances -- and those aren't included in the 87% figure. He also noted that they were asked about "typical" plans.

The number is "somewhere below that 87%, but it's pretty safe to say that most Americans with employer-sponsored coverage have coverage for abortion," he said.

Another study found that just 46 percent of plans cover abortions. But unless Congress excludes abrotion coverage, which it is repeatedly refusing to do, that could rise to the 90% figure or higher. More at http://www.lifenews.com/nat5264.html

I guess Democrats feel their calculated extermination of the African American community isn't moving fast enough and they want to make sure every American taxpayer(including black ones)are contributing fully in their effort.

Ben, nothing you wrote here is relevant to the abortion problem in Obama's health care bill. Nobody's tax dollars are being used to pay for abortions at the moment. Obama's plan would change that, and that's the point.

Health care is NOT a right, it is a service. Abortion has been sold to women to keep them sl*tty and crazy. The men who promote abortions as a right, do not want to be responsible for their fun. They want to throw the party girls and their babies away like used kleenex.

Jen....Oh Jen health care is not a right.Your Constitutionally guaranteed rights can be found in the Bill Of Rights,and health care ain't in there.But hey if we are going to start calling anything we feel like having a right I want to know about my right to drive a Ferrari.

One more reason to oppose the healthcare leg of the "Liberal Suicide March" as David Brooder calls this unfolding horror show. Although he was able to run as a moderate the President is not and has never been such a thing. Increasingly his effectiveness as a salesman hitherto very good, will become a running joke. Increasingly he will be seen as a well marketed product that does not deliver the promised results. Months ago I predicted a breathtaking rebound for the lost and confused GOP. It is coming to fruition. I think I'll play the lottery tomorow.

Abortion is a legal medical operation. Most (though not all) plans cover it. The government plan should cover it.
Some people oppose abortion just as some people oppose blood transfusions. That is their right. However, the law of the land states that both these procedures are legal in the United States.
Therefore a health insurance program offered by the US government should cover these procedures.
I promise the govt will not force you to have an abortion or marry a gay.

The 'Right to Lifers' have combined all their frenetic PR campaigns and come up with a new one. 'ABSTAIN FROM ABORTIONS'. But where's the fun in that? With no sex, and no abortions, are you really living?

Dems: We refuse to let the government stand between you and your doctor, unless our tables say you are over 60 and we can save money by letting you die. We will provide you with free its time for you to die counseling.

Have you even looked at the constitution 4:55? Healthcare is indeed found in the bill of rights under the 9th amendment. It's also clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence since it directly impacts the protection of our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

The crazy thing is that the Margaret Sanger that founded Planned Parenthood believed in eugenics and that abortion could be used to cull minorities. Like Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it was a tool to exact "undesirables" from society. Now those "undesirables" are part of the Democrats party's base.

Spamlet.....Posting while on crack again aren't you?please cut and past in your reply exactly where in the 9th Amendment if infers that Americans have a right to good health care.And good luck with taking the Declaration of Independence into the circuit courts courts.

Spamlet:
The Declaration of Independence was written as a delcaration of independence from England, not an establishment of government power or responsibilities by the Continental Congress. The second constitution (first being the Articles of Confederation) did not incorporate the Declaration of Independence into its being. Therefore, the passage pertaining to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" does not instill (either explicitly or by intrepretation) health care as a right to the American people. Also, legal precedent by SCOTUS (I don't have the citation) has concluded that health care is not a right guaranteed under the Constitution.
As far as Section 9, very liberal interpretation/reading. You are reading what you want into that amendment.